The weekly spreads for US domestic copper scrap grades tightened on Tuesday as Comex regained some of it lost ground and some consumers looked to get ahead of potential price increases.
The Comex market closed at $2.36/lb on the spot market Tuesday, from $2.33/lb on May 5.
The spread for US bare bright copper scrap (barley) delivered US consumer narrowed to 9¢/lb, better from 9.9¢/lb under the May Comex contract, on Tuesday, while the weekly Davis Index for bare bright increased by 3.6¢/lb to $2.275/lb delivered US consumer.
The spread for #1 copper (berry/candy) was better at 17.7¢/lb a 0.08¢/lb improvement under the May Comex contract, with the index for the grade increasing by 4¢/lb to $2.193/lb. The spread for #2 copper chops narrowed to 31.4¢/lb, under May Comex, while the index for the category increased by 4.1¢/lb to $2.045/lb.
Supply and demand are believed to be in balance, but some consumers are looking at the current prices as an opportunity to buy more material.